It's the Happy Method
by D-Reezy42
Summary: I suck a summaries. I probably even spelled summaries wrong. well, maybe not. anyways, three years into the future, there is a big problem between Max and Omega. Meet another flock, who happened to get caught in the middle of it. and it sucks.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hola, and, before you begin reading this little story of mine, I shall inform you of some details of major importance things. First of all, we all know that I'm not James Patterson. Therefore, I do not own Maximum Ride. Assuming you've read all the books, you will know whose characters are mine, and not. Secondly, I kinda stole a claw thingy from X-Men…hehe. I also used some of FireFly63's ideas with the whole Chameleon thingy. Hehe. Well, anyways, onward!

**Eglantine's POV**

Okay, so here's the thing. I'm really not that good at introductions, but here it goes. Hmmm, where to start.

I know what you're thinking. Why didn't I plan this out before I started? Well, planning isn't exactly my thing. Well anyways…I just I'll just say it. I'm a freak. Not you're average dorkwad at your hometown high school. I mean your hard core freakazoid. Like ET freaky. Okay, no, I'm not ET. God this is harder than I thought. Okay, I really didn't think at all. Maybe I should just tell you.

I'm part cheetah. There, I said it. I am 50 Cheetah. How can anyone possible know that, you ask? Well, I have retractable claws. Really, really long claws. I've earned the nickname Strikes. I don't know ethier, Quill loves to come up with wired names. So other than that I'm completely normal. Except for the, you know…enhanced hearing, vision, the ability to always land on my feet…the claws. Yeah, I'm completely normally. Yeah, right. That was a lie. Which doesn't tell you much, except to not believe what anyone says about me, least of all what I tell you myself.

I have some friends who are also, of questionable humanity. Well, not humanity as in…kindness and whatnot, humanity as in…not human. Okay, so I'm not known for subtlety. So, seeing as I've given you my description, I suppose I should give you theirs.

Well, em, all right. So there's Drea. Drea is…one of a kind. Actually, she's many a kind. Billions a kind, if you will. She's half chameleon. Yup. But instead of changing colors, she can change into people. She can copy anyone, to make herself look exactly like him or her. She can change her voice, her sex, her eye color, anything. So a description could be beyond useless. But, when she's with us, she has her normal self. Her normal self has curl brown hair down to her middle back, and silver eyes, that shine even in the darkest night. Who said freaks couldn't be poetic?

Nick is…well, he's Nick, but I just told you that. He's very sneaky. And fashionable. He's never caught without his "hip" aviator specks and his "cool hat". Nick is half Jaguar, and my only other feline buddy. So he also comes complete with the Feline package. Retractable claws, night vision, and, for him, the helpful ability to be extremely stealthy. So he makes an excellent spy. Nick has skater-like black hair, and it's always messy. And his eyes, although you rarely see them, are a bright blue. So blue that if you look at them, you often forget what you were going to say.

Zack can be annoying sometimes, but he can always lighten the mood. He has got to be the biggest goofball in the world, and I love him for that. Zack is an African American and part Jackal. No, he does not have a maniacal laugh. I said Jackal, not Hyena. He looks completely normal. But, when he want's to, he can make his skin as rough as anything. If he focuses hard enough, he can make his skin bulletproof. But we aren't X-Men, and these things take energy. It's hard enough to change your physical appearance. Zack always and I mean always has his NY hat on. He says it "Makes a statement". I'm not sure what statement he's trying to make though, but whatever. Zack's eyes are the palest shade of orange, an unusual color, true, but a beautiful one.

Riley is the cutest thirteen-year-old I've ever seen. Well, not that I've seen many thirteen year olds, but still. I'm not kidding. She has a round baby face, and dimples that can make even Nick smile. She has blonde hair that has a light red tint to it, and light green eyes. She always seems to smell like…popcorn and licorice. No matter how dirty we get. Riley is half Parrot. Don't ask me why, the School has a weird taste in hybrid. She is the only one of us who can fly, and her wings are so brilliantly colored that they capture the sunlight like stained glass, shining in blues and greens and yellows and reds.

Quill is the nickname freak. He's already bestowed nicknames to every person he sees, whether they know it or not. Heck, he might have given you one. Quill is mixed with a porcupine. He has the strange ability to raise quills from his back. But, like I said before. That hurts. He's not made like a porcupine, and when his spike raise, which happens when he gets nervous or scared, they have to tear out of his skin. I mean rip, like a thousand knives poking through his back. As a result, he's had to learn to keep him emotions under control, but he's ten, and pretty much the most emotional guy I know, and he has a million scares running up and down his back. Well, like I said, he's ten.

Nacho is a clingy six-year-old, but I really can't blame him. He was the last one to join our group. He had been alone for four years of his life, with no friends, no one to care for him, no one to love him. A kid needs to be loved. I would know, as I was deprived of it. He has messy blonde hair, and it's always hanging in his eyes. His eyes are a shining, cherry brown. An amber, if you must. He was mixed with a kangaroo, and, as a result, is an excellent boxer. He can also jump. Not high, but like…well, in stead of running for his life, he'd rather jump for his life.

So there you have it. Our mismatched group. We like to call ourselves a Flack. A combination of a flock and a Pack. Pack for Nick, Zack, Drea, Nacho, and me. Flock for Riley.

It's extremely important that you listen to me. Don't turn me down. I'm only asking for a moment of your time to tell you our story. Yeah I know, It's my problem, and not yours. But you know what, I am officially bestowing my problem onto you…read on?

Well, that fact that your reading this tells me that you've agreed to listen to our story. Thank you. I guess I should start at the beginning?

Okay, so I know what you're thinking, those species we gave. For the most part, are pretty violent. Animals of Predatory Parts. Well, yes, indeed. We were raised in the PYP. The Predatory Youth Plan. We were made to kill, to sneak, to infiltrated places, i guess. Although it's never been quite my thing to kill, it's what I'm good at.

They used to take us and put us up against each other. We never really hurt eachother, but it certainly helped to be a good actor in this situation. In fact, the only one of us who did end up getting hurt in those matches was Quill, who was only a year old and just learning to walk. His quills would rip out of his skin almost everyday then, because being in a war zone, it's basically as scary as Hell. Soon they found out our little charade game, and decided that it really wasn't a very effective way of training. They moved on to bigger and better ways to make us hurt. Sadistic bastards, the lot of them.

The trained us, by staking us up against erasers. Eraser, half wolf and half…human. But they're hardly humane. They are so evil, that hell itself spat them back out. They're commanded by the damned. But that's just my opinion. They used to make us fight them, Day in and Day out. No matter how old any of us were, this is how it went.

Erasers aren't a problem for us anymore. Nothing the PYP throws at as can cause us any damage. The only real problem is the MI. MI, the Mutant Incorporation. They're a group of escaped mutants from the school. They don't like our kind of people. The kind of people that were mutated to kill. So, they're out to get us, because they think we're out to get them, and they've been making our lives a living hell. A big living Hell. We're on guard everyday. Because of Omega.

Omega was from our neck of the woods as well. I can't say I knew him well, but they were really hard on the poor guy. Whatever they did to him turned him into a robot. He takes orders, and he follows them down to the last line. Ever since that little "Feud" between Maximum Ride and him, the School folk, and the PYP folk have some unwritten blood draw going on. Somehow we've gotten sucked into, along with everyone else.

The day we escaped was the beginning of our lives. I was 10. That made Drea 10 as well, Zack 9, Nick 8, Riley 5, and Quill 2. Let me tell you, it was hard sneaking out with a crying two-year-old and a little girl who kept asking questions. But we did it, because as I've mentioned, we can do anything. And, uh, no, we didn't forget Nacho, he just came later.

You see…we were going back to PYP to get so information. Info on where we came from. I mean really came from, like what womb. We had found our old room, and we were excepting to find information, but not another experiment. Nacho was all alone, no one with him. The room was dark, and he was scared. I remember he wouldn't come out of his cage to any of us. I was getting so aggravated with him that I was about to hang it and just leave, but Drea refused to. She sat at the entrance of his cage and coaxed him out. He was four years old. Five and a half, as he put it. We've had him for two years. The rest of us have been together our whole life. But, he's got to be the sweetest kid ever, and we love him to death. Any of us would do anything to help him. Any of us would do anything to help any of us. Yes, I do realize that what i just said was an incorrect use of grammar. Deal with me people.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, sorry for the major delay, but…um, honestly I forgot I had this story on here…..hehe. well, here you go! **

"Doesn't anyone sleep anymore?" I said, coming up next to Drea, who was casually sipping a Coke bottle with one hand, her other wrapped around Nacho. She looked up, surprised, and then smiled.

"Apparently not," She agreed, holding out the Coke bottle, like an offering. I slipped it out of her hands and took a sip, letting the flat, warm soda go down like a river. Fast and hard. I'm not supposed to drink soda. The carbonation is very bad for my cat bones. But, Hell, seeing as I'm stuck out in the middle of nowhere, I don't think the world will come to an end if I have a sip. "So, any idea on where you want to go next?"

Well, since this is Drea I'm talking to, and not someone like, say, Nick, I decided to break my usual streak of lying and tell the truth. I took another sip. "Not a clue." Drea laughed, her eye crinkling, and pulled her hand away from Nacho to stop herself from laughing out loud.

"Maybe we should stay at the Marriott. I could use a shower," She looked down at the sleeping boy in her lap. "And for the record, so could Nacho."

"I'll second that," I muttered, ruffling his dirty hair. The kid didn't even feel it, and kept snoring peacefully away. Behind me, I heard a sleepy shuffle, and a yawn.

"Good morning Zackle," Drea said, using Zack's ever so popular nickname. Zack plopped down next to Drea, and in front of me, hanging his legs over the cliff edge.

"It's not morning," he said crankily. "When in the Hell of it are you guys up? Man, I was having a good dream too! I asked Beyonce out, and this time I was the last man on earth, man."

"Shhh," Drea brought her finger to her lips. "They're still sleeping."

Zack stared at her incredentiously for about a minute, like he had fallen back to sleep with his eyes open. "So was I," He said finally, then smiled. "But whatever, It doesn't matter. Least I'll get to see the sunrise." Good Ol' Zack, always in a good mood. Drea sighed and turned her silvery eyes on me. It was almost like a small circle of metal. Shiny metal. Actual, it was like a metallic color. Metallic silver. Her eyes were like two lighthouses in this moonless night. True words, there was no moon tonight. No stars, because of the think layer of storm clouds. I'm not so sure if we'll be able to see the sun rise at all.

"I think a storms coming," Drea said, as a gust of wind almost pushed me over. Zack backed away from the edge of the cliff and tucked his legs underneath him. He caught me staring at him.

"What? Man, I don't wanna fall. These winds are pretty intense man," He griped, and winced as another cold blast of air hit us. This is getting bad. We should probably find cover. I mean, like a cave or something. I don't much like water. Especially when I'm in it. Cats don't like water.

"Should we-" A loud clap of thunder cut Drea of, and Nacho jackknifed up, and that was followed by a yelp of surprise from Riley, and a few muttered curses from Nick, who didn't enjoy being woken up.

"Drea?" Nacho asked, looking up at the flashing storm clouds warily. She kissed his forehead and rubbed his back.

"It fine sweetie, we're just gunna find cave or something. It's just a little storm," She said assuringly, and jumped when a strike of lighting slithered down from the sky practically right in front of us, submitting with a crash so loud that it hurt my ears.

"Holy Miss Molly," Nick scrambled to his feet, and rushed over to Quill, very rudely shaking him and pulling him up and grabbing his pack. "Lets get the heck outta here."

"Are you afraid?" Riley teased, pulling her hair into a ponytail. Riley loves storms. I don't know why, but she just does. Drives me nuts, the fact that she'll sit and stare at the rain, and then even _go in it._

"No," Nick said a little to fast. Drea got up and brushed dirt off her pants. She walked over to Nick and handed him his Specks.

"It'll be fine," She whispered to him, almost inaudible, but my sensitive hearing picked it up. Nick nodded, and wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans before placing his Aviator glasses over his stunning blue eyes. Another clap of thunder reminded me of the water that was sure to be sprinkling from the sky any second.

"Let's go," I offered, ushering Riley away from the cliff edge. She sighed heavily and grabbed her pack off the ground, taking off after Nick and Zack. Next to me, Nacho reached out for my hand. I took it, folding it into my own, and followed Riley. Drea and Quill were close behind. Quill had his hands on his back, and he leaned heavily on Drea. I'm guessing being shaken awake so violently had scared him. I dropped back a bit.

"Is he bleeding?" I asked Drea, whispering. She shook her head.

"They just raised a bit, but they didn't rip out. He just got a little scared. He'll be fine," She concluded, rubbing his back. Next to me, Nacho struggled to keep up. As I leaned down to pick him up, a cold drop of water splattered on my cheek.

"Oh for the love of-!" I heard Nick scream up ahead. True, both of us hate water, but he's the only one who actually has a phobia of it.

"You said a bad word!" Riley joked, covering her mouth in her hand and she gasped loudly. Nick shot her a dirty look, and quickly pulled a beanie over his head.

"C'mon guys, I found a cave," Zack said, returning from around the corner where he had jogged a head. I whipped Nacho up from where he was dutifully running besides me, just as another roll of thunder burst above our heads, the debris of water falling down on our heads.

"Not exactly welcoming," I said, looking at the damp, leaking cave, barley big enough to hold all of us. Nick had already squeezed himself into the very back, resting his cheek on his knee, and staring out dejectedly at the pelting rain.

"Okay, younger ones in first," I decided, pushing Nacho and Quill into the cave. I waved to Riley, and she stepped into the cave, making the last spot occupied. Great, now I'm stuck out here.

I looked up into the rain, the pelting drops splattering on my face. The sky was a mixture of yellows and blacks, intertwining clouds winding around eachother, and speaking with thunderous voices. If i didn't hate water so much, it could be pretty.

"Hey?" Nacho's small voice tugged my gaze downwards. He was soaking wet, the ends of his honey blonde hair plastered to his face. "Can we find a bed tomorrow. Like a hotel? With a TV?"

Perfect. What, does he think I'm made of money?

"I don't think we'd exactly be welcome there baby. We don't exactly look like the Brady bunch right now," Drea said, noting our obvious hygiene neglect. She sweeps her hair on top of her head and secures it with elastic; the loopy, brown mess sitting like a crown atop her head.

"Not to mention the crime scene you've got going on your shirt, man," Zack points to the splattered red stain I've managed to get on my hoodie. Fighting is not a clean getaway. I roll my eyes at him, and catch a glance of Nacho's disappointed face, of Riley's slight shoulder sagging, Quill's head drooping.

"But maybe that won't matter," I offer, grabbing my golden hair and pulling it off my neck. Nick looks up at me, a confused look on his face. "We'll look for one tomorrow."

"We will?" Zack looks at me suspiciously, with one eyebrow cocked, and his arms crossed over his chest, reminding me of the many promises that I've broken lately.

"Yes," I finalized my promise. And Riley pumps her fist in the air, congratulating herself on a job well done. The little manipulator.

"Get some sleep guys," I order, reaching out to ruffle Quill's messy brown hair. He nods tiredly and closes his eyes, leaning on Nick's shoulder. Nacho has followed suit, sprawling himself on Nick's lap, his thumb latched in his mouth like a lifesaver. Nick shoots me a look.

"Dude, you wanted the cave man. It's ethier you get out here and get wet, or be a bed for a little while. Wait-," Zack pauses. "Let me rephrase."

"Sick, I could have done without that," Nick mutters, twisting on his side. Drea smiles and leans against the cave rock.

"I'll take watch for the rest of the night," She offers. I shrug. I don't really care anymore, I'm so aggravated at the rain, and my obvious neglect of the kids needs. Major needs of life, food, clothing, shelter. We have clothing. No food, no shelter, very suckish.

"Good night," Riley said cheerfully, fitting herself into a rock crevice. I sat myself down on the wet, muddy ground and closed my eyes. I'm suddenly so tired, like someone replaced all the mud with a feather comforter, and the rock with fluffy pillows.

"Night."

"Nighty tighty."

"What? Nighty tighty?"

"Yeah…you know…good night."

"Whatever, man."

"Good freaking night, Zack!"

"Go to sleep, Nick!"

As I'm listening to Nick and Zack's banter, The soft sound of Riley's breathing. The…somewhat loud snoring of Quill, I'm reminded about how lucky I am, despite everything.

**OKAY. NEXT CHAPTER DOWN! Yay! Anyways…uhm….oh yeah. Um, reviews? Yeah? They would be nice! Because you know. That would…just be cool. Yeah? THANKS 4 READING!**


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